Samuel w



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reitera Patent No. 79,4125, dated June .23, 1868..`

IMPROVEMENT .In noon-SPRINGS.

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TO ALL 'lO WHOMYTHESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: p y

:Be` it-knotvnthatl, SAMUELA W. "HUNTINGTON, of Augusta, in the countyof Kennebec, and State of Maine, havev inventeda new and 'usefulDoor-Spring, or device for closing doors.; and do hereby declare the,following to-be a. full, clear, andexact description thereof, duereference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecication, and `in which-A p Figure lis lan inside view or elevationof a door and its fraaie, while Figure 2 is a vertical and longitudinalviewof the same, with'my invention applied thereto.

Figure isa. vertical and' transverse section of the same, with the doorshown as being opened to its full et extent. Y

The object of rmypresent invention is to construct a device for causingdoors, when left open carelessly, to be closed automatically, andtbatsuch device, while performing its'reqnired functions noiselessly andeectively, shall be entirely concealed from view when the door. isclosed. y

The invention` consists inA applying to the hinged'edg'e of the door,and between Vsuch edge and its jamb, a cord, tube, or cylinder ofvulcanized India rubber, elastic throughout its wholelength, which islet into mortises pr holes made in such door-,edge and jamb and opposite'each other, the elastic `material being conned'at each end within therespective holes, and serving by its contracting: force to close thedoor, and thus the spring, by which the`door is closed, serves directlyto connect the door and jamb.

In the. accompanying drawings, A denotes'n door of ordinaryconstruction, and its frame', the` hinges connecting thetwo being shownat c c.

The holes for reception of the' elastic spring are shown .at d d',theformer being bored into the inner edge of the door, and thelatterjnto the adjacent jamb, and being opposite each other. l

' The elastic cord or strip is shown at e, with its opposite endsconfined in the holes d d respectively, such elastic strip, whenconfined therein, being stretched to some extent in order to insure'theentire closing of the ldoor under all circumstances, A t

The operation of.the device will be obvious to any one. Upon openingthedoor, the -elastic strip will be distended, and'when the holdupon'thedoor is removed,'and it :is free to turn upon its hinges, willserve, by its contraction, to close the door. y Y t The mouth of theholes or recesses may be'surrounded and protected by a metallic plate orsocket, m, to prevent wear of the -wood, and these plates may also serveto retain the`elast'ic strips in place.

I would remark that-in'place of 'applying'the/'elastic strip between'theldoor and its'jamb, as shown in the drawings, I have contemplatedapplying one` end of such spring within a hole formed within thedoor-frame, and to one side of the face of such door, the opposite endof the springbeing provided with an eye to hook or. clasp upon a hookfixed to the face ofthe door, thus allowing the spring to be' used inconnection with the door or not,'as occasion or necessity dictates. l py ,One advantage of o the above-described deviceis, that the door, whenleft open to its fullest extent, will be certain to be retracted andclosed.

y l Another advantage, and an important one, isV the fact that it may beproduced and applied to almost any' description of doors ativery smallcost, and with very little trouble, and should the elastic strip give`out, it may vbe replaced or screwed in alike expeditious arid economicalmanner.

In addition to these advantages is the fact that the device is entirely`out of sight when the door is closed.

In conclusion, I-wouldfremark' that I am well aware that-it is not newto e'ect the closing of doors, die., by means ofya s trip'c'onnectingthe hinged edge of the door and the jamb, and actuated by a spring. Thisstrip, however, has heretofore possessed lno contractile force of itsown, but has been retracted Within the mortises in the door andjamb bymeans of Vspiral or other springs set in such mortises. Butrin vmydoor-closing device, the strip whichconnects the doorwith the jambconstitutesat the same time the spring, by the contractile force ofwhich thedoo'r is kept closed. It is elastic throughout-its wholeextent, andthe spring is not, as in other cases, enclosedentirely'within thev mortises in the door orjamb, or both. `I thus notonly produce a. device more simple and cheaper than others heretoforeused, but one in which more spring-power is contained in less space. Theluse of metal spiral springs -in devices of this class has met with nosubstantialsuccess, for such springs are not only necessarily costly undcumbersome, but they wear rpidly, and soon require to be replaced. Myinvention dispenses with'the use'oi` tiny auxiliary springs, andfurnishes a combined spring and connectingstrip, which is inexpensive,lasting, and entirely tted to accomplish the result desired. The spring,connectingstrip, und sockets m m, in which it is held, constitute also'a door-closing device, which can be readily made andV used inenyconnection where its services-are required. l

Having .thus described the'advautages of my invention, anditsconstruction and molde of applicnttion,y What I claim es novel-andcfmy invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is es fellows: v l c Aspring for closing doors, dac., consistingof a. strip or cylinder of vulcenized'lndia rubber, nud sockets, m m, inwhich the ends of the seme are held, constructed and arranged asdescribedrand applied to the edge ofthe door and jamb to which the dooris hinged in the mannersct forth. l

- l S.' W. HUNIINGTON.l

Witnesses: y

FEED. CURTIS, C. W. BALDWIN'.

